Evacuations ordered on East Coast as Florence gains strength

As Hurricane Florence churned toward an eventual Eastern Seaboard landfall, evacuations were imposed for parts of three East Coast states Tuesday.

Hurricane watches have been issued for Carolinas (The Weather Channel/Inform)

By Jonathan Drew The Associated Press

September 11, 2018 - 4:28 am

Updated September 11, 2018 - 9:08 am

Walker Townsend, at right, from the Isle of Palms, S.C., fills a sand bag while Dalton Trout, in center, holds the bag at the Isle of Palms municipal lot where the city was giving away free sand in preparation for Hurricane Florence at the Isle of Palms S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Walker Townsend, at left, from the Isle of Palms, S.C., fills a sand bag while Dalton Trout, at right, holds the bag at the Isle of Palms municipal lot where the city was giving away free sand in preparation for Hurricane Florence at the Isle of Palms S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

This photo provided by NASA shows Hurricane Florence from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, as it threatens the U.S. East Coast. Forecasters said Florence could become an extremely dangerous major hurricane sometime Monday and remain that way for days. (NASA via AP)

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Florence, third from right, on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018, as it threatens the U.S. East Coast. At right is Hurricane Helene, and second from right is Tropical Storm Isaac. (NOAA via AP)

Alexis Browning enjoyed the sunny weather and waves along Wrightsville Beach, N.C. as others prepared for Hurricane Florence Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Hurricane Florence now a category 3 hurricane is expected to make land fall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week. (Ken Blevins /The Star-News via AP)

Jim Craig, David Burke and Chris Rayner load generators as people buy supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Hurricane Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

Mike Herring with Frank's Ice Company unloads another pallet of ice as people buy supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Hurricane Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

Alex Gilewicz buys supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Residents of Wilmington and Southeastern N.C. Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

Chris Rayner helps customers load their cars as they buy supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Hurricane Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

James Wemyss puts out more supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

People buy supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

Brian Franklin prepares more generators for sale as people buy supplies at The Home Depot on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Wilmington, N.C. Hurricane Florence rapidly strengthened into a potentially catastrophic hurricane on Monday as it closed in on North and South Carolina, carrying winds and water that could wreak havoc over a wide stretch of the eastern United States later this week. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)

Chris Brace, from Charleston, S.C. lowers hurricane shutters on a client's house in preparation for Hurricane Florence at Sullivan's Island, S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Brace said that after S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster ordered an evacuation the property owner asked for the house to be boarded up. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Residents of the Isle of Palms, S.C., fill sand bags at the Isle of Palms municipal lot where the city was giving away free sand in preparation for Hurricane Florence at the Isle of Palms S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Larry Pierson, from the Isle of Palms, S.C., purchases bottled water from the Harris Teeter grocery store on the Isle of Palms in preparation for Hurricane Florence at the Isle of Palms S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Rob Quinn boards up Lagerheads Tavern in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. as they prepare for Hurricane Florence Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Hurricane Florence now a category 3 hurricane is expected to make land fall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week. (Ken Blevins /The Star-News via AP)

Governor Roy Cooper talks to emergency personnel local officials and members of the media about the ongoing Hurricane Florence preparation efforts in the Emergency Operations Center at the New Hanover County Administration Building In Wilmington, N.C. Sept. 10, 2018. Hurricane Florence now a category 3 hurricane is expected to make land fall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week. (Ken Blevins /The Star-News via AP)

Roberts Grocery Store in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. boards up it's windows as they prepare for Hurricane Florence Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Hurricane Florence now a category 3 hurricane is expected to make land fall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week. (Ken Blevins /The Star-News via AP)

Jim Carter and Rob Quinn board up Lagerheads Tavern in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. as they prepare for Hurricane Florence Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Hurricane Florence now a category 3 hurricane is expected to make land fall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week. (Ken Blevins /The Star-News via AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. — As Hurricane Florence churned toward an eventual Eastern Seaboard landfall, evacuations were imposed for parts of three East Coast states Tuesday and millions of Americans prepared for what could become one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the region in decades.

“We could cover several states easily with the cloud cover alone,” Graham said. “This is not just a coastal event.”

There was little change in Florence’s track during the 11 a.m. forecast from the National Hurricane Center. Sustained winds were 130 mph (215 kph) Tuesday morning, but it remains a Category 4 storm and is expected to intensify to near Category 5 status as it slows over very warm ocean water near North and South Carolina.

The storm is currently around 400 miles south of Bermuda and is moving at 16 mph (26 kph).

The center of the massive storm is forecast to make landfall along a stretch of coastline already saturated by rising seas and then meander Thursday, Friday and Saturday, inundating several states and triggering life-threatening floods.

Seven-day rainfall totals are forecast to reach 10 to 20 inches over much of North Carolina and Virginia, and even 30 inches in some places. Combined with high tides, the storm surge could swell as high as 12 feet.

“The water could overtake some of these barrier islands and keep on going. With time, the wind pushes the water into every nook and cranny you can think of,” Graham said. “All you have to do is look up at your ceiling, and think about 12 feet (of water). That, folks, is extremely life-threatening.”

President Donald Trump declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina, facilitating federal help, and canceled campaign events Thursday and Friday, citing the storm.

“Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!” Trump tweeted, adding: “WE are here for you.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said his state is “in the bullseye” and urged people to “get ready now.”

The very center of that bullseye may be Camp Lejeune, the sprawling Marine Corps training base, where authorities were opening emergency operation centers, staging equipment and urging families on the base to build survival kits with food and equipment needed to sustain themselves for 72 hours.

Mandatory coastal evacuations were in effect for civilians in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, but the military base posted on Facebook that different chains-of-command would decide whether to release non-essential personnel, and some relatives vented fears that they wouldn’t be able to evacuate in time.

Worse than Hazel

Florence could hit the Carolinas harder than any hurricane since Hazel packed 130 mph (209 kph) winds in 1954. That Category 4 storm destroyed 15,000 buildings and killed 19 people in North Carolina. In the six decades since then, many thousands of people have moved to the coast.

Ahead of Florence’s arrival, barrier islands were already seeing dangerous rip currents and seawater flowed over a state highway — the harbinger of a storm surge that could wipe out dunes and submerge entire communities.

Watches in effect Tuesday forecast a storm surge of up to 12 feet at high tide from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout in North Carolina. A hurricane watch was in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Virginia’s southern border, with the first hurricane-force winds arriving late Thursday.

For many people, the challenge could be finding a safe refuge: If Florence slows to a crawl, it could bring torrential rains all the way into the Appalachian mountains and as far away as West Virginia, causing flash floods, mudslides and other dangerous conditions in places that have already experienced lots of rain recently.

“This is going to produce heavy rainfall, and it may not move very fast. The threat will be inland, so I’m afraid, based on my experience at FEMA, that the public is probably not as prepared as everybody would like,” said Craig Fugate, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

All signs pointed to a stronger, slower, wider and wetter hurricane in the days ahead, forecasters said.

More storms

Two other storms were spinning in the Atlantic as the 2018 hurricane season reaches its peak. Isaac became a tropical storm again approaching the Caribbean, while Hurricane Helene was veering northward, no threat to land.

In the Pacific, Olivia became a tropical storm again on a path to hit the Hawaiian islands early Wednesday.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said an estimated 1 million people would be fleeing his state’s coast, many of them using Interstate 26 on normally eastbound lanes that were reversed to accommodate the exodus. He later lifted the mandatory evacuation order for three counties along the state’s southern coast as models showed the storm coming ashore farther to the north. Gov. Ralph Northam’s evacuation order applies to about 245,000 people, including parts of the Hampton Roads area and Eastern Shore, and evacuations remained mandatory along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Jeffrey Collins and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.

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